Hear poets read their poems amidst the art in the galleries. In honor of National Poetry Month, Bay Area poets create new works inspired by current exhibitions at the San José Museum of Art. Hosted by Janice Lobo Sapigao, the Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County, and co-sponsored by Poetry Center San José.
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Poem Transcripts
About the Poets
Janice Lobo Sapigao (she/her) is a daughter of immigrants from the Philippines. She is the author of two books of poetry: microchips for millions (Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc., 2016), which is about immigrant women workers in Silicon Valley; and like a solid to a shadow (Timeless, Infinite Light, 2017 by way of Nightboat Books), which is about her father, family lineage, and learning Ilokano. She is also the author of two published chapbooks, "toxic city" (tinder tender press, 2015), and "you don’t know what you don’t know" (Mondo Bummer Chapbooks, 2016), along with other self-published chapbooks. She is the 2020-2021 Santa Clara County Poet Laureate and hopes to start a Youth Poet Laureate program.
Rhy Mack (he/him) is a senior at Notre Dame High School in San José. He loves writing and has been artistic for the majority of his life. He started at the San José Area Writing Project in 2017 and has stuck with the program up until the present day. He wants to major in Creative Writing in college next year and has recently become interested in poetry. It began with an assignment in his elective English course and he’s loved it ever since. He also loves spending time with his family and friends, playing video games, and painting.
Sophia Kamra (she/her) is a 16-year-old sophomore at Fremont High. She was born in Taipei but moved to Massachusetts when she was 1 and then later moved to California at the age of 4. She’s been writing poetry since the age 9. Poetry has always been a way for her to express her ideas and experiences in a rehearsed and polished manner. Her poems tend to be about growing up in the age of climate change, current events, philosophy and personal experiences. In the future she’s interested in pursuing poetry and behavioral ecology. Other interests of hers are historical fashion, sewing and crochet, animals, and aquascaping.